Persona: Intertwining Destinies
by SkyaceZero
Summary: My first fanfiction. Essentially a Persona 3/4 collision. Chris is an exchange student attending Gekkoukahn High, but little does he know, a great journey awaits him. Updated title, rated M for language at this point. *Chapter 8 up!* R and R! (On hold due to RL and severe writer's block XP)
1. Disclaimer  And so it begins

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the Persona series or anything related to it.**

Chapter 0: And so it begins

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><p><em>Time never waits. It is ever flowing...ever changing.<em>

_Much like a river, but even they can change their course._

_Events that have passed, and those yet to pass..._

_many have merged, others strayed, the rest cease to be._

_You, who wish to see off the outcome, whatever it may be_

_shall be given a year, now go forth without falter..._

_with your heart as your guide..._

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><p>A massive gate floated among a field of light brownish haze. In front of the gate was a crucified statue, it's features long since worn away. A massive black hand reached for the statue and grasped it, attempting to remove it from the gate. The creature it was attached to, Erebus, rose from the haze and screeched in irritance. Relenting, it tried again, and as before to no avial. Finally, Erebus grasped the statue with both hands and tried once again to remove it. After many, many failures, Erebus had succeeded in violently casting the statue off of the gate and forced them open.<p>

There was a translucent shell beyond the gates and inside it was a figure that emerged from the shell. Erebus and the figure nearly touched, until a violent pulse flung the figure away and blew out Erebus like a candle. Events that had transpired up to that point had be come distorted and started merging or otherwise never happening to begin with, an image went gray and started to dissolve...

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><p>Chris' eyes shot open and his breathing was slightly heavy. He looked out the window and saw the approaching runway of the international airport. The captian on the intercom announced their arrival and the passengers disembarked. The terminal was abuzz with activity, relatives returning to their loved ones from a long trip, business or for leisure, or tourists visiting Japan for the first time. Chris was none of those, he was on an overseas transfer program to a place called Gekkoukan High School. He took another look at his pamphlet, containing instructions on how to get to his destination, the Iwotodai dormitory. A giant TV screen caught his eye, it was an ad featuring a girl with a brown, pigtail-like hairdo wearing a bikini standing under a waterfall. She picked up a soda can and took a quick drink from it and held it next to her face with one eye open.<p>

"_I'm tired of diets, and enough with going to the gym. Good thing there's something even I can handle_," she giggled at the end.

"_Slim down this summer with the refreshing taste of Qualorie Magic_," the announcer said. The screen cut to a news desk. _"And now onto more relevant news_," the anchor said. and straightend out the papers in his hands. "_Reports of increasingly bizzare personal time dialation have been on the rise across the world for the past ten years. The public has been pressing their officials for answers, but to date, all investigations have yeilded little to no results. Across the globe_-" Chris looked away from the screen and started towards the baggage claim, hearing people's concerns over the news report.

"Excuse me? You there!" a voice in the crowd said. Chris looked in the source's direction to see a man in a suit coming his way. "I apologize for startling you, I represent a gaming company and would you mind answering a survey question? It will only take a moment, I assure you," he said.

"Um, sure," Chris said, giving his Japanese lessons a field run.

"Okay, excellent. Here's the question, do you prefer console or portable gaming systems?" the man in the suit asked.

Chris felt a bit akward answering such a question, but he shrugged and answered, "I've always been a console player, I guess," he said.

"Alright, thank you for your time, young man," the man said with a bow and walked away. "I'm suprised, never expected these results..." the man was murmuring as he walked away.

Chris sighed and walked to the baggage claim, waiting for several minuets until his backpack came up. His pamplet had explained that his luggage would be handled and taken to the dorm seperately. He turned to head for the terminal exit when someone bumped into him.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't see you there!" a girl's voice said apologetically.

Chris shrugged it off and replied "No big deal," and realized his pamphlet was gone. "Wait! Where's my-?" Chris started looking around.

"Huh? Did you drop this?" the same girl's voice said. Chris faced her direction to find her holding his admittance pamphlet. The girl herself was pretty cute, she had dark blue eyes, medium-length black hair, and was wearing a navy blue high school uniform. "Oh, you're going to Gekkoukan, too?" she asked, looking up from the pamphlet, her face slightly lighting up.

"Um, yeah. I'm on a year-long exchange program," he said. The girl looked intrigued.

"Exchange? Where're you from?" she asked, handing Chris his pamphlet.

"United States," Chris simply said, taking the pamphlet back.

"Well, who knows? Maybe we'll see each other at school tomorrow," she said. "I couldn't help but read the directions. If you don't mind, I know an easier way to get there" she admitted.

"Not at all, any help would be appreciated," Chris said and the girl's face lit up.

"Okay. Well, to be honest, I was on my way there anyway, maybe we could go together?" she said.

"Yeah, I guess that'd be alright," Chris said with a slight smile. "I didn't catch you're name, though," he added.

"Huh? Oh, right sorry 'bout that. I'm Setsuna Mochizuki," she said with a bow. "What's your name?" she asked.

"It's Chris. Chris Vash," Chris introduced himself.

Chris and Setsuna spent the whole way to the station making small talk and trading life stories. "And this is it," Setsuna said and went ahead to the departure board. "Hmmm, your train just arrived and it'll be leaving in ten minuets, better hurry," she said turning around and informing Chris.

"Uh, thanks, aren't you coming?" he asked.

"No, I have a different destination, but since we're going to the same school, maybe we'll see each other there," Setsuna said with a smile.

Chris boarded his train and turned around. "School starts tomorrow and it would be good to see a familiar face," he said as the doors hissed closed. He put two fingers to his right brow in a psuedo-salute and flicked his hand forward. "See 'ya around," he said and the train departed.

Chris took a seat near the doors and took an MP3 player out of his backpack. He put the headphones into his ears and pressed play, leaving the volume low enough to hear any announcements on the intercom an closed his eyes and listened to his player.

_There's no man's land_

_No man ever survived_

_Invisible hands are_ _Behind you just now_

_If you ever win that_ _Race against rage then_

_You'll be king coz_ _It's no man's land..._


	2. Arrival

Chapter 1: Arrival

What Chris had initially though would be a several minute long ride soon became several hours. "_Due to a malfunction in the railway switching mechanism, the monorail scheduel has been greatly altered. We apologize to any patrons who are in a hurry,_" a voice said over the intercom. Chris groaned in annoyance, he had already spent several hours cooped up in a plane, now he was stuck in a train, go figure. The orange sky outside had already given way to a black, star-lit night sky, and Chris had already gone through his entire playlist to keep himself occupied.

"_The next stop is Iwatodai_" a new announcement said over the intercom.

_'Bout damn time..._ Chris though sarcastically and took a look at his watch. The time read 11:54 p.m. Chris just sat back in his seat and sighed boredly. His mind just about drifted when the intercom came on again. "_Now arriving at Iwotadai Station. Please remember to take all personal belongings with you when disembarking. Again, we apologize for the late arrival. Have a pleasent evening_," the voice on the intercom said. Chris got out of his seat just as the train pulled up to the station platform. As Chris disembarked with the other passengers, a faint figure that looked like an isolated heat wave moved about the crowd, unnoticed by anyone.

Chris walked down the steps from the station platform, and the figure seemed to follow. Chris remained oblivious to it, continuing down the steps looking at his watch, it read 11:58. Chris took out and opened his pamphlet and looked at the Iwotodai map to see what the best way to the dorm was. The figure reared up on what appeared to be it's hind legs and loomed over Chris, who began walking forward.

11:59:57

11:59:58

11:59:59 The figure started to make a swiping motion...

12:00:00 the figure vanished in mid-motion

"Huh?" Chris turned around to look behind him, swearing he had the feeling that something was following him.

_I'm probably just tired. Late night paranoia... _he thought and proceeded to exit the station terminal. He passed by several shops and small restaurants in the strip mall by the station and passed by a shrine a while later.

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><p>Chris was almost dead tired at this point as he made a left at an intersection, his pace was much slower now, as if he was dragging a lead weight. He turned to his left side after a fifteen-minute walk. He had arrived at the Iwotodai dorm, which was strangely well lit up inside depite the late hour. He approached the door and turned the handle slightly, it turned very easily, indication that it was unlocked.<p>

_What kind of building is unlocked this late at night?_ he thought and opened the door, stepped inside and closed the door behind him. He took a look around the room, there were two sofas,a single chair with a large coffee table in the middle to his right, and a reception desk with a sign-in book to his left. Chris leaned against the reception desk and looked to his left and right slighly until a voice broke the silence.

"Who're you?" a voice said loudly, causing Chris to snap to the source's direction. The voice had come from a girl with brown hair in a pink sweater with a red ribbon at the neck. "What're you doing here?" she demanded and Chris noticed her right hand twitch. There was a holster with a gun in it on her right thigh.

_Oh shit_! Chris thought and his eyes snapped back up to the brown-haired girl's eyes. "Okay, let's not do anything hasty.." Chris said raising his hands up. The girl brought her left arm up and Chris froze thinking she was about to pull the gun out, but instead she brought up a cell phone.

"Tell it to the cops when they get here!" she said and her finger moved to dial.

"Takeba, wait!" a new voice said. The brown haired girl looked in the voice's direction and there was a red-haired girl in a ruffled blouse standing in the corner.

The redhead approached Chris and the brunette girl. "Sorry for the unorthodox welcome, I didn't expect you to arrive so late," she said to Chris.

"There was trouble with a track switching thing or something. Go figure," Chris said. The redhead gave a slight laugh.

"Allow me to indroduce myself. I'm Mitsuru Kirijo, I'm one of the students who live in this dorm," the redhead introduced herself.

"Who's he?" the brunette girl asked Mitsuru.

"He's an exchange student. It was a last minute decision to assign him here. He'll eventually be moved to a room in the boy's dorm," Mitsuru explained.

"Are you sure it's okay for him to be here?" the brunette girl asked nervously and Mitsuru gave a slight smile.

"I guess we'll see," she said and turned back to Chris. "This is Yukari Takeba. She'll be a junior this spring, just like you," Mitsuru introduced the brunette, who gave a brief 'hey' followed by a momentary bow.

"Nice, to meet you, name's Chris," Chris said, extending his hand.

"Uh, y-yeah..." Yukari said nervously. "Nice to meet you, too..." she said as she shook Chris' hand.

"It's late, so you should get some rest," Mitsuru said out of the blue. "Your room is on the second floor, at the end of the hall. Your things should already be there," she explained then faced Yukari. Yukari took a moment until she got the message.

"Oh... I'll show you the way. Follow me," Yukari motioned for Chris to follow her as she went up the stairs. Chris followed Yukari to the next floor. She led him down the hall to the last door on the left.

"Well, this is it," Yukari said. "Pretty easy to remember, since it's right at the end of the hall," she said jokingly. "Oh yeah, make sure you don't lose your key, or you'll never hear the end of it..." she added. "So, any questions?" Yukari finished.

Chris thought for a moment, remembering the feeling he had at the station, but figured it waas nothing, besides, she probably wouldn't have believed him anyway. "No, none right now," he said, looking away.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Yukari said suddenly.

"Sure, shoot," Chris raised and lowered his shoulders.

"On your way here from the station, was everything okay?" she asked, seeming a bit nervous now.

Chris found her behavior a bit strange, but thought nothing of it. "Yeah, why wouldn't everything be alright?" he said.

"I see... Never mind, then," she said and turned around. "Well, I'd better get going..." she said and started walking back to the stairs. She stopped and turned her head in Chris' direction. "You sure you don't have any questions? I f you don't ask them now you may not get answers 'till tommorrow," she said.

Chris shrugged. "Yeah, I'm sure. I'll ask if any come up," he assured her.

"Okay, good night," Yukari smiled and walked up the stairs.

Chris opened the door to his room, walked in and closed the door. He looked around the room to examine his surroundings. The room, was pretty plain, with a bed in the back right corner and a sink in the front to his left. As Mitsuru said, his bags were next to the desk on the left side of the room. Chris got into his night clothes and climbed into bed. As he closed his eyes, he wondered what kind of life awaited him tomorrow, but before, he could contemplate further, he was already fast asleep.


	3. Welcome to Gekkoukan High

Chapter 2: Welcome to Gekkoukan High

Chris groaned himself awake after being woken up by the familiar and rather obnoxious beeping from an alarm clock. Chris reached over to the bedside table and hit to off button rather hard, climbing out of bed and sighing. He rubbed his eyes and looked over at the desk where he had hung his uniform on the back of the chair last night. Chris got up out of bed and changed into his uniform, and walked over to the sink to brush his teeth. After finishing that, he walked back over to the desk where his schoolbooks had already been stacked up for him. He unzipped his backpack and emptied it's contents, replacing them with the school materials, then looking over one of the items he had taken out of his backpack. It was his father's marpat-patterned military jacket with a staff sergeant insignia on the shoulder and above that insignia was a black and yellow tab that read "RANGER". Chris laid it out on his lap and examined the name patch "VASH". He continued reminicing until his thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Hey, it's Yukari. Are you awake yet?" Yukari's muffled voice came from the door.

"Hang on, I'll be right there," Chris said, laying his dad's old uniform on the bed and walking over to the door, opening it and Yukari took a few steps inside.

"Good morning. Did you sleep okay?" she asked pleasently. "Yeah, I slept alright," Chris said. "What are you doing here?" he quickly added.

"Mitsuru-senpai asked me to take you to school," Yukari answered. "It's getting late, and my boyfriend's waiting downstairs, so are you ready to go?" she asked.

"_Aw man, she already has a boyfriend...oh well_," Chris thought and looked at Yukari. "Yeah, I'm ready," Chris said.

"Okay, then let's go," Yukari said with a smile and led Chris downstairs, where a blue-haired boy was waiting by the enterance. "So, he's the exchange student?" he asked as Yukari and Chris walked down the stairs to the enterance. "Yup, this is him," Yukari said as she and Chris approached the door. "Well, nice to meet you, I'm Minato Arisato," the blue-haired boy said with a bow. "Same here, I'm Chris Vash," Chris said as he, Minato and Yukari left the dorm.

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><p>The group was soon on a monorail car from the Iwotodai station. "We have to take the monorail to get to school," Yukari explained. "Bet your last school wasn't like that," she added jokingly. "It's my favorite part of the trip. It feels like you're just gliding over the sea," she said dreamily.<p>

"Our stop is Port Island Station at the end of the line, and from there, we walk," Minato said. "You never heard of Tatsumi Port Island, have you? It's a man-made island, and our school was built in the middle of it," Minato explained, followed shortly by Yukari.

"Oh, look, you can see it now!" Yukari said pointing out the window. Chris followed the direction of her finger and sure enough, the was a large island that looked like a small city. "Whoa, check it out..." Chris said softly.

Shortly after disembarking from the tram, the group had gone a short ways from the station until they heard a creaking and whirring sound. Chris looked behind him to see a boy on a bike barrleing towards himself, Yukari and Minato. "Get outta the way!" the boy on the bike said in a panic. The group immediately sidestepped out of the way and the bike crashed into a pile of boxes. As Yukari, Minato and Chris walked by the crash, the boy was on the ground clutching his shin, hissing in pain.

"Shouldn't we help him?" Chris asked as he, Yukari and Minato passed the boy.

"If we do, we'll be late for school, and I doubt you'll want to be late on your first day," Minato said as the group kept walking.

"Well, this is it," Yukari said as the group came upon a large building with an obelisk in the courtyard. "Here we are! Welcome to Gekkoukahn High School, hope you like it!" Yukari said cheerfully.

"She said the same thing to me, when I first got here," Minato whispered to Chris as they entered the lobby, where there were rows of small locker-like cubbies in front of them.

"First, you need to drop you shoes off in your assigned locker..." Yukari said, digging through her bag, until she produced a small key and a pair of slippers. Your locker is the one next to Minato's easy enough to remember, right?" Yukari said as Chris put his sneakers in the locker and put the slippers Yukari handed him.

"Yeah, though back home, we had book lockers, not shoe lockers," Chris commented.

"You should be okay from here, the first place you'll want to go is the faculty office to find out what your homeroom is," Yukari advised. "The faculty office is down that hall on the left, it'll be the first door on your left," Yukari directed. "Any questions before I leave?" she finished.

"No, I'll be alright," Chris shrugged and started towards the left hallway, until Yukari stopped him.

"Listen, about last night... Don't tell anyone about what happened, okay?" Yukari said nervously. "Huh- what?" Chris said until Minato called out.

"Yukari, hurry up, or I'll leave you behind!" he said. "Okay! See ya later," Yukari said and went off in Minato's direction, leaving Chris slightly confused.

Chris just shrugged it off and went towards the faculty office. He slid the door open and stepped inside. "Hello?" he called out and a teacher in a beige suit answered.

"Oh, you must be the exchange student," she greeted Chris and approached him. "Christopher Vash, 11th grade, correct?" she said looking over a clipboard.

"Yeah, that's right," Chris said, nodding. The teacher continued flipping through the file on the clipboard.

"Wow, you've lived in a lot of different places...up until 2007, that was what, five years ago? Your father-," she gasped at the end and had a sympathetic look on her face. "I'm sorry, I've been so busy I didn't have time to read this beforehand..." she said sadly. "It's alright," Chris said assuringly.

"Well, that aside. I'm Ms. Toriumi, I teach junior composition," the teacher introduced herself. "Welcome to our school," she added with a smile. Chris smiled back "Thanks, it's nice to meet you, too," Chris replied.

"Wow, such enthusiasm," Ms. Toriumi said and looked back to the clipboard. "I have your classroom assignment right here. You're in... class 2-B," she said and grimaced. "Why him of all teachers? On your first day, too..." she sighed. "Anyway, class 2-B is on the second floor of the school, it shouldn't be too hard to spot," she explained and the bell rang. "Oh! There's the first bell, you don't want to be late, especially with the homeroom teacher you have," Ms. Toriumi said urgently.

"Okay, thanks. I'll find it," Chris said and left the faculty office.


	4. All hail King Moron

Chapter 3: All hail King Moron

"Aw...talk about bad luck...The homeroom teacher here is Morooka, isn't it?" one gossiping student in class 2-B complained.

"Yeah, it's King Moron alright...we get to enjoy his long-ass sermons every day for a whole year..." the other student confirmed.

"Hey, you guys," a girl in the gossiping group spoke up. "I heard there's going to be an exchange student from the States in this class," she said. One of the students looked intruiged.

"Really? A guy or a girl?" he asked.

"It's a guy. Word is he was seen coming here with Minato and Yukari..." the girl began spilling the rumors, piquing the intrest of a girl in a green athletic jacket.

"An exchange student from the States... What do you think, Yosuke?" she asked a boy laying over his desk behind her. It was the same boy who crashed his bike on the way to school. "What's wrong? You look dead today," she said, noticing the boy's lack of usual energy.

"Yeah, um... I don't wanna talk about it..." he said in a pained tone. The girl in the athletic jacket turned to a girl in a red sweater in front of her.

"What's with him?" the girl in the athletic jacket asked.

"Who knows?" the girl in the red sweater shrugged.

Shortly after the girl's response, the door to the classroom opened and in walked a man in a blue pinstripe suit, followed by Chris. Upon seeing him, everyone in the classroom scrambled to their desks and sat up straight. "Awright, people. Shut your traps!" the man in the pinstripe suit said in an obnoxious voice while Chris stood beside the teacher's desk. "I'm Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from today forward," the man introduced himself. "Now first thing's first! Just 'cause it's spring, that doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like love-struck baboons," Mr. Morooka said. "As long as I'm around, you students are gonna be pure as the driven snow!" he added, then shifted his attention to Chris.

"Now I hate wasting my time, but I'd better introduce this exchange student," Mr. Morooka said in a bored tone. "This sad sack's been thrown from the high-and-mighty United States out to humble little Japan like yesterday's garbage," he ranted, earning an irritated look from Chris. "And he's just as much of a loser here as he was there. So you girls better not get any ideas about hitting on him!" he continued. "Well, tell 'em your name, kid, and make it quick," he finished.

"My name is Chris Vash. And correct me if I'm wrong, but did you just call me a loser?" Chris said in a challenging tone. Everyone in the class perked up in shock at what they had just heard.

Morooka gave Chris a rather nasty look. "That's it, you're on my shit list, effective immediately!" Mr. Morooka declared and closed the distance between him and Chris. "So listen up! This place is miles away from your States full of perverts and assholes, in more ways than one," Mr. Morooka started ranting in Chris' face. "So you'd better not even think of getting involved with the girls here, let alone abusing them!" Mr. Morooka then shifted his attention to the class. "But what do I know... it's not like the old days. Even here, kids grow up so damn fast! Every time I turn my back, your messing around on your damn phones, checking your life journals and your my-places..." Mr. Morooka continued his ranting.

"It's myspace, you dork..." Chris muttered in English, but Mr. Morooka was to busy preaching to notice, until the girl in the green athletic jacket raised her hand.

"Excuse me! Is it okay if the exchange student sits here?" she asked, indicating the empty desk next to her.

"Huh? Yeah, sure. 'Ya hear that? Your seat's over there. So hurry up and siddown already!" Mr. Morooka instructed harshly. Chris just shrugged and walked over to the desk. "Hey! Don't you sass me!" Mr. Morooka said in response to Chris' shrug.

As Chris sat down, the girl in the green jacket leaned over in Chris' direction. "He's the worst, huh? Rotten luck for you to get stuck in this class..." she whispered.

"No kidding, I though my elementary school gym teacher was bad," Chris commented.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to hang in there for a year," the girl said assuringly. Chris could hear some of the students talking.

"Sucks to be the exchange student. Ending up in King Moron's class his first morning here..." one student said.

"Forget that, did you hear what he said? I've never seen or heard of anyone standing up to King Moron before..." another murmured.

"Well he should be careful, King Moron won't think twice about suspending him if he gets on his bad side..." the student behind the last one whispered. "Then again, we're all in the same boat..." she added.

"Everyone shut your traps! I'm taking roll and I damn well expect you to respond in an orderly manner!" Mr. Morooka broke the gossiping.

_I miss home already..._ Chris thought sarcastically.


	5. Disturbances

Chapter 4: Disturbances

Class carried on with Mr. Morooka's ranting and raving, until the final bell rang. "That's all for today, normal lectures will start tomorrow," Mr. Morooka finished and gathered his lesson planners and had just left his desk when the intercom came on.

"_Attention all teachers, please report immediately to the faculty office for a brief staff meeting_," the announcement said. _"All students must return to their classrooms and are not to leave the school until furter notice_," the announcement added, earning a disgruntled 'hmph' from Mr. Morooka.

"You heard the announcement. Don't go anywhere until you hear otherwise," he said, leaving the classroom and closing the door behind him.

"He's seriously getting on my nerves..." the student in front of Chris' desk whispered. The faint sounds of police sirens could be heard in the distance and started getting closer. Three students rushed to the window to get a look.

"Did something happen? Don't those sirens sound really close?" one student said.

"I can't see, the window's not facing the street," the other replied.

"Still, 'least something's going on. Here I thought this would be a boring day," the last one remarked.

The girl in the green jacket rested he head in her hand, leaning over her desk. "How much longer is this going to take?" she sighed and the girl in the red sweater turned around to respond.

"There's no telling," she said, and the girl in the athletic jacket sighed again.

"I wish I'd left before the announcement came on..." she said and right on cue, another announcement came on the intercom.

"_Attention all students. There has been an incident inside the school district and police officers have been dispached around the School Zone. Please stay calm and contact your parents or guardians as soon as possible and quickly leave the school grounds. Do not disturb the police officers. Head directly home_," the announcement said. The students started to look interested.

"Incident? What, something actually happened?" one student said and quickly left the classroom.

"Wow! C'mon! Let's go take a look!" another student said as she and her friend followed suit.

Chris sighed "Tell someone not to do something and they're gonna do it anyway," and got out of his seat, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "Self-fulfilling prophecy," he added and started to leave, only to be stopped by the girl in the athletic jacket and the girl in the red sweater.

"Hey, are you going home by yourself?" the girl in the athletic jacket asked.

"Um, yeah, actually. I was," Chris said.

"Why don't you come with us? It would be a lot less lonely dont'cha think?" she offered. "Oh, nearly forgot! I'm Chie Satonaka, I sit right next to you. It's very nice to meet you," she introduced herself, then turned her attention to the girl in the red sweater next to her. "This is Yukiko Amagi," Chie introduced her friend.

"Oh, nice to meet you...I'm sorry if this is so sudden..." Yukiko said with a bow.

"Sheesh, Yukiko, don't apologize, it makes me look like I've got no upbringing," Chie said in response to Yukiko's introduction.

Chris laughed lighly, "Hey, no worries," he said and turned to walk out of the classroom with Chie and Yukiko when the boy on the bike stepped in front of them.

"Oh, Chie..." he said said nervously and was holding a DVD case. "This was awesome. The way they moved was unreal, it was amazing it was great and, uh..." he trailed off. He bowed holding the case in front of him. "And I'm really sorry! It was an accident! Please just have mercy until my next paycheck!" he said in one breath as Chie took the case from him. "Gotta go! Bye!" the boy said and walked hastily away.

"Wait! Stop right there! What did you do to my DVD?" Chie chased after him, her foot catching him between the legs.

The boy fell forward cluching his crotch while Chie opened the DVD case. Her eyes widened in disbelief. "What the-? I can't believe this, it's almost cracked in half! My 'Trial of the Dragon'..." she said at the state of her movie.

"I think mine's cracked, too," the boy on the ground said in a pained tone. "C-critical hit to the nads..." he added. Yukiko and Chris walked over to Chie and the boy she just kicked.

"Are you alright?" Yukiko asked the boy. He looked up with a small glimmer in his eyes.

"Yukiko-san...are you worried about me?" he said in the same pained tone, earning a glare from Chie.

"He'll be fine, Yukiko! Let's ditch him and go home," Chie said, putting the DVD in her backpack and left the classroom, followed by Yukiko and Chris.

As Chris, Chie, and Yukiko approached the school gate, someone called Yukiko's name. The group turned around to see a boy with silver hair in a bowl-style cut making his way towards them. "Oh, hi, Souji-kun," Yukiko smiled and the boy she called 'Souji' approached them.

"So, you ended up in King Moron's class this year? Tough break," Souji said and shifted his attention to Chris. "You must be the exchange student, Chris Vash, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, how'd you know about me?" Chris asked.

"Your name's spreading like a wildfire, you actually stood up to King Moron and didn't get suspended, that's no small deal," Souji said and introduced himself. "I'm Souji Seta, and I see you've already met Chie and my girlfriend, Yukiko," he finished.

"_Why do all the cute ones already have boyfriends?_" Chris thought. "_Not that this Chie girl isn't cute, but still..._" he mentally shrugged the thoughts off and tuned back to reality.

"Jeez, Souji, the way you say it makes me sound like I'm a trophy or a prize you won," Yukiko said in protest as the boy Chie got in the crotch earlier pulled his bike around the corner.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Yukiko-san, he just a little over protective of you," the boy on the bike said.

"Easy for you say, Yosuke, you don't really have a girl to speak of yet, do you?" Souji said with a joking smirk.

The boy on the bike sighed in defeat "Okay, that was a low blow, man," he said as he got on his bike. "Anyway, try not to pick on the exchange student too much," he finished as he pedaled off.

"We're just curious is all!" Chie shouted at Yousuke as his bike moved further away.

"Curious? About me, or just where I'm from?" Chris asked.

Chie turned her head in Chris' direction, "Well no reason we can't be curious about both is there?" Chie asked and Yukiko and Souji started moving.

"Let's talk about this as we go, people are starting to stare," Souji said and Chris and Chie looked around and saw that they were drawing quite a crowd.

"Hey! W-wait for us!" Chie as she and Chris caught up with Souji and Yukiko.

* * *

><p>"...and that just about sums it up," Chris finished explaining how he got enrolled in Gekkoukan High.<p>

"Oh, so you're on a year-long exchange program, though someone must've really pulled some strings to get you in this school," Chie commented. "So what do you think of Japan? I know it's probably not what you're used to, but we're pretty easy to get along with," Chie explained as the group approached the monorail station to Iwotodai.

"If it's not too much trouble, do you guys think you could help me around town sometimes. I'm still having a hard time understanding the writing characters...," Chris said embarassed.

"Nah, it'd be no problem," Souji said.

"Huh? What's going on over there?" Yukiko pointed out a crowd of people at the entrance of an alleyway. As the group approached the crowd, they could hear some of the people talking.

"So a student left school early and as she came down the street, a smell caught her attention..." one member of the crowd said.

"Wow, that's crazy, I mean, a dead body showing up like that in the state it was in..." another said, earning the group's full attention.

"Did...did she just say '_dead body_'?" Chie said in a shaky tone when a man in a grey button-up shirt and a red tie moved through the crowd, turning his attention to Chris' group.

"Hey what are you doing here?" he asked as he approached.

"We were just passing by, actually," Souji said to the man, who sighed in annoyance.

"I thought that might happen," he shook his head. "That damn principal. We told him not to let students through here..." he muttered.

"Do you know this guy?" Chris asked Souji.

"Yes, I'm Detective Dojima, his guardian," the man in the red tie said.

"I'll give you the details later," Souji said as a younger detective shoved his way through the crowd and started vomiting into a nearby trash can.

"Adachi! How long are you gonna act like a rookie? Do you want to be sent back to the central office?" Dojima shouted at the young detective.

The young detective looked in Dojima's direction, he had slightly unkept black hair and his face a bit on the pale side. "Sorry..." he said weakly and gagged slightly.

"Go wash your face and start gathering information, I'll join you shortly," Dojima sighed and the younger detective moved back into the crowd.

"So, what happened here?" Souji asked. "Was someone killed?" he added to which Dojima sighed again.

"Yes, though we're not ready to call it yet. Didn't look like the individual was murdered, more like they were attacked by some kind of animal," Dojima said.

"So there's a dangerous animal around here?" Chris asked, his concern growing.

"We're checking with local zoos to see if there were any escapes and the loading docks to see if there were any exotic animals shipped here," Dojima said and quickly added "That's really all I can say. In the meantime, stay out of trouble and don't worry about this," and went back to the scene.

"So this must've been what the announcement was about..." Chris said thoughtfully.

"But the way those people were talking, it was probably a real mess back there," Yukiko said.

"Hey, guys..." Souji started. "Maybe we should meet up some other time, rain check?" Souji said and Chie and Yukiko agreed with him and Yukiko walked with Souji up to the monorail platform.

"Well then, fresh start tomorrow, huh?" Chie asked Chris. "Yeah, definitely," Chris nodded and Chie followed Yukiko and Souji. Chris looked towards the crowd one more time as a feeling of uneasiness washed over him and he follwed suit and went to the monorail platform.

* * *

><p>After parting ways with Souji, Yukiko and Chie, Chris went straight back to the dorm where he was greeted by Yukari and a bespectacled man sitting in the chari across from her. "Oh, he's back," Yukari indicated to the man, who rose up from his seat and turned in Chris' direction.<p>

"So this must be our new guest," he said as he and Yukari approached Chris. "Good evening, my name is Shuji Ikutsuki. I'm the Chairman of the Board for your school," Ikutsuki introduced himself.

"Ikusi-what?" Chris tried to pronounce his name, to which Ikutsuki chuckled.

"I know, hard to say isnt it? Even I get tongue-tied when introducing myself sometimes," Ikutsuki said and motioned to the sofa. "Please have a seat," he offered as he sat back in the chair and Chris sat next to Yukari on the sofa across from Ikutsuki.

"What's this about? Am I in trouble already?" Chris asked.

"No, no. Not at all, I just wanted to apologize for the confusion regarding your accomodations," Ikutsuki said assuringly. "I also wanted to let you know that it may take a while before you receive the proper room assignment," Ikutsuki said.

"Yeah, I was told from the get-go that this would only be temporary anyway," Chris said.

"Well, while you're still a resident here, is there anything you'd like to ask?" Ikutsuki said.

Chris thought for a moment, then figured now would be the best time to learn about any other occupants. "Who else lives in here?" he asked.

"Well, there's you, Minato, Yukari, Mitsuru, and another senior named Akihiko Sanada. I don't think you've met him yet, but when you do, I hope the two of you will get along as well as you have with the other students in the dorm. Do you have another question?" Ikutsuki said.

Chris couldn't think of any other questions. "No, that's all," he said.

"Then I hope you have a successful school year," Ikutsuki said warmly. "You can start by getting a good night's sleep, as they say 'The early bird catches the bookworm!' Please forgive the bad pun," Ikutsuki chuckled as he got up and went up the stairs.

"You'll get used to his lame jokes," Yukari sighed as she got off the sofa and went upstairs as well. Now that he thought about it, Chris was kind of tired, so he decided to take Ikutsuki's advice and went up to his room.

* * *

><p>On a moniter in a room on the fourth floor, was a video of Chris' room. the picture panned slightly to reveal Chris in bed asleep. "Working hard?" Ikutsuki asked Mitsuru, who was behind the bank of controls on a console with Yukari sitting next to her. "So how is he doing?" Ikutsuki asked.<p>

"He went to bed about an hour ago, he's asleep now," Mitsuru said.

"I see," Ikutsuki said as he sat in a nearby chair.

"Hey, do you really think he's...?" Yukari was about to ask a question, but stopped in mid sentence.

"Well, let's wait and see for now," Ikutsuki rolled up his sleve and glanced at his watch. "It's almost midnight, anyway," he said as Mitsuru and Yukari looked the moniter showing Chris' room.

* * *

><p>In an alley behind the Tatsumi Port Station, a group of delinquent-looking men and women were gathered around a radio, smoking and drinking beer and just chatting about their problems, or just their lives in general. One was finished senting a text and got up and walked down the alley. "<em>At the tone, the time will be twelve o'clock, a.m.,<em>" the radio DJ said as the tone started, but was cut short. Everything suddenlt went quiet. The guy that had gotten up went back to the gathering, only to find that his friends had become statues. The alley was dark, the lights had gone out. The guy went out into the steet, lit only by the faint moonlight. "Wh-what's happening? What's going on here!?" he said in a panicked tone. Just over his panting, he could hear a gutteral growling sound behind him. He slowly turned around to see a strange creature just inches from his face. He started hyperventilating and slowly backed away, but the creature's jaw opened and it lunged forward.

* * *

><p>On the moniter in Chris' room, it showed that like the people around the radio, Chis had turned into a statue as well. "Hm, it looks like we were wrong," Ikutsuki said in a disappointed tone.<p>

"The dorm is in a Midnight Zone now, so I guess this means that he doesn't have the potential," Mitsuru said and turned to Ikutsuki's direction. "Does this mean...?" she asked.

"It's regretable, but I'll start on the paperwork tomorrow to get him to the boy's dorm," Ikutsuki said and walked out of the room.

"Too bad," Yukari sighed."He looked like was just getting used to the dorm, too..."


	6. Awakening

Chapter 5: Awakening

Chris rolled over to the beeping of his alarm clock and turned it off. For some reason, he felt a bit more tired than usual, but attributed it to not enough sleep, after all he did go to bed a little later than usual. The dorm was a little quiet so Chris figured that everyone was already on their way to school. After getting ready, he left his room, but there was no one in the lounge to greet him. "Hm, guess they think I can get there on my own," Chris though out loud and took the route he remembered to the monorail station. As he approached the high school, the familiar sound of a bike whizzed by. The rider lost control and ended up inside a trash can, rolling around rather pitifully on the ground. "Someone...anyone...help me outta here..." the rider in the can said pleadingly.

Chris grabbed the sides of the can. "Just hold still," Chris said and propped the can upside down and the bike's rider came out after Chris gave the can a good tug. The rider got up and sighed with releif.

"Hey! Thanks, man!" he said and took a quick look at Chris. "Oh, yeah, you're that exchange student, Chris Vash. I'm Yosuke Hanamura, nice to meet 'cha," Yosuke introduced himself.

"Same here, you alright?" Chris asked.

"Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm fine," Yosuke said sheepishly. "Say, did you hear about the incident yesterday? The guy that was in that alley looked like he went through a woodchipper," Yosuke said. "Do you really think an animal attacked him? I mean, something that weird can't be an accident," Yosuke referred to yesterday's events.

"I knew something happened, but I didn't think it was that bad," Chris said and the first bell rang.

"Oh crap, we're gonna be late!" Yosuke said urgently. "We'd better hurry, King Moron's gonna read us the riot act if we're late!" Yousuke said and the two raced to their homeroom.

Unfortunately, Chris and Yosuke weren't fast enough and ended up at the worst end of Morooka's temper, getting extra quality attention from him the length of their homeroom. After that, the rest of the day went relatively smoothly, until the last bell rang, dismissing the students. Chris was already on his way back to the dorm, he didn't even wait for everyone else. He had just passed the school gates when he heard a familiar voice from behind him. "Yo! Chris! Wait up!" Chris stopped and turned to see Yosuke pedaling his bike toward Chris, stopping next to him. "Man, you don't wait for anything, do you?" Yosuke asked. "So you gotten used to the place at all?" Yosuke added.

"Yeah, it's pretty routine, so I'm doing alright," Chris said.

"Wow, that was fast," Yosuke said, impressed.

"You know, there's alot to do around here, there's a movie theater, a mall, a shrine if you got the time, even assorted resturaunts," Yosuke listed the many activities Iwotodai had to offer, then his face lit up. "Oh yeah, you know about the local delicacy?" he asked. Chris raised and lowered his shoulders. "It's grilled steak! Like that's anything special, huh?" Yosuke said with a slight laugh.

"Grilled steak? I was expecting something a bit more exotic," Chris said jokingly.

"Well, I know a place where you can get it cheap. Wanna come? You helped me out this morning, so it's on me," Yosuke offered.

"_Well, he is inviting me, so I guess it would be rude to refuse..._"Chris thought. Chris agreed then an all-too-familiar voice piped up.

"Hello? What about me?" Yousuke and Chris turned around to see that Souji, Yukiko, and Chie had caught up with them. Yosuke sighed.

"You always show up when I'm talking about food..." he muttered.

"Well you DO owe me, remember? My 'Trial of the Dragon'?" Chie said.

"Well, I guess I do..." Yosuke said in defeat.

"Count me in, too," Souji said. Yosuke suddenly looked paniked.

"Hey wait a minute!" Yosuke started, the Chie turned to Yukiko.

"How about it, Yukiko? Wanna join us?" she asked. Yukiko walked ahead a bit.

"Sorry, I'll pass. I don't wanna gain any more weight. I have to help out at the inn today, anyway," Yukiko said apologetically.

"Oh, training to take over the business, Yukiko-chan?" Souji asked.

"No, it's not like that, I just help out when it gets busy, thats all," Yukiko said. "Well, I should be on my way, I'll see you all tomorrow," Yukiko said any started walking away.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go, too," Chie said.

"Are you kidding? Do I seriously have to treat THREE people?" Yosuke said in a complaining tone.

* * *

><p>The group found themselves in the food court of a department store called <em>Junes<em>, with Yosuke placing a tray with drinks and some snack food on it that Chris didn't recognize. "THIS is the cheap place you were talking about? They don't have grilled steak here!" Chie complained. Yosuke sat in the chair next to Souji.

"Yeah, well, once you guys hopped on the freeloader train, I had to change my plans," Yosuke said. "But did you have to take us to your place?" Souji asked. "Dude, this isn't MY place or anything," Yosuke said, then took note of Chris' confused look.

"Oh, that's right, you don't know, huh? I moved here from another city about a year-and-a-half ago," Yousuke explained. "This location just opened up and my dad was assigned to manage it. So my entire family came out here," Yosuke finished and grabbed a drink off the tray. "Here, this is to welcome you to the country," Yosuke said and Chris grabbed the second drink off the tray, followed by Souji.

"Hope you like it here," Souji said as he took his off the tray.

"Oh, Souji, Chie, yours are on me, too," Yosuke said.

"Yeah, I know," Chie said plainly as she grabbed the last drink.

"Well, here's to an interesting year," Yousuke said and everyone took a gulp from their drink cups.

After setting them down momentarily, Chris started the conversation. "Yukiko said some thing about helping out at an inn?" Chris started.

"Oh, yeah, her family runs the Amagi Inn. It's been going for generations, and Yukiko's going to take over some day," Chie said.

"Well, I guess the name's a bit of a giveaway," Chris said.

"Yeah, it may look like an old, traditional inn, but once you see the inside, you'll think it's the ninth wonder of the world!" Chie said.

Chris gave a slight smirk, "I'll have to check it out if I get the chance," he said. Chie looked around a bit.

"It's only been half a year since this place opened up, but I haven't really been to the local shopping district much since," Chie said thoughtfully.

"What brought this up?" Souji asked. "Well, I heard that a lot of stores started closing so..." Chie trailed off.

Yosuke sighed. "You can't blame it all on Junes, can you?" he said.

"Well, it's a common solution to blame superstores and big companies for ruining other people's business," Chris said assuringly when everyone hear a girl's voice shreik momentarily, followed by several small noises.

Chris turned around to see a girl on the ground with several school supplies around her. "Oh, that's what I get for trying to carry everything at once..." she said. Chris immediately recognized her and got up.

"Hey, you're Setsuna, right?" Chris asked when he reached the girl on the ground.

"Yes, I'm-" she stopped in mid sentence and her face lit up when she saw Chris. "Oh! Chris-san! It's so good to see you again!" Setsuna said enthusiastically.

"Huh? You know this girl?" Yosuke said as he, Chie, and Souji approached.

"Yeah, I met her when I first arrived here," Chris said and extended his hand. "Here, let me help you up," he offered.

"Oh, thanks," Setsuna smiled and took his hand. Chris got her to her feet and momentarily locked eyes with Setsuna. After he let go of her hand, he suddenly started to feel lightheaded, and staggered forward a bit. His left knee gave way, and he grabbed a nearby chair for support.

"Hey! Chris! You alright?" Yosuke said as he and Souji grabbed Chris to hold him up.

"Hey! You okay, what's wrong?" Chie's voice started to echo and sounded like it was getting further and further away...

* * *

><p>At he dorm, Yukari and Minato were going over reveiw material. "Ugh, this was always my worst subject," Yukari, said, stuck on her math work.<p>

"Tell me about it, how are we supposed to-" Minato was interrupted by the dorm's front door being thrown open and Yosuke and Souji barged in.

"Hey! What the hell are you guys-" Yukari stopped after seeing Chris on their shoulders. "Huh? Is that Chris? What happened?" she said, and Mitsuru came down the stairs.

"Takeba, Arisato, what's goin on?" She asked, then spotted Chris being supported on Souji and Yosuke. "Who are you two and what happened to him?" Mitsuru said, concerned and approached Souji and Yosuke.

"We're his classmates," Chie said as she came through the door, followed by Setsuna.

"I-I-I I don't know what happened...he just helped me up, then he just...he was like this..." Setsuna stumbled over her words.

Mitsuru grabbed Chris' face lighly and turned it in her direction. "Vash, can you hear me? What's wrong?" she asked.

"I...don't...I don't know...I just feel...really...weak..." Chris said, barely concious. Mitsuru frowned, unsure of what his ailment was.

"Take him up to his room, it's the last door on the left of the second floor," Mitsuru instructed and Yosuke and Souji complied.

Chris had left his door open whil he was gone, and Yosuke and Souji laid him on his bed and left, trying to figure out what had happened. Chris' eyes were barely open as he stared at the ceiling, only alerted when he heard someone's voice in the room."Huh?...who...who's there?" he said weakly.

"_Thou art I...I am thou..._" the voice came from all directions. "_The time draws near...yet is still far away..."_

"Who's..." Chris tried to ask again, but his eyes slowly closed. On the moniter room on the fourth floor, the picture showing Chris' room displayed an isolated heat wave-like silhouette, which face the camera's direction, and the picture went haywire, then turned to static.

* * *

><p>In the command room, after midnight, Mitsuru, Yukari, and Minato were monitering several instruments and what appeared to be city-wide radar screens. Ikutsuki came through the door. "Detect anything unusual?" he asked.<p>

Mitsuru shook her head. "Afraid not, considering this Midnight Zone is larger than the one last night. Oddly, though, the camera in Vash's room is broken," she indicated the blank moniter.

"I see," Ikutsuki said. "Did you find out what possibly happened to him today?" Ikutsuki added.

"No, we questioned the ones who brought him in, but all their stories matched. He was helping that Mochizuki girl up to her feet, then suddenly be came lethargic," Mitsuru said.

"It's sort of weird, do you think maybe he was exhausted?" Minato asked. "Considering who he has for a homeroom teacher..." Minato added thoughfully.

"I heard about that, Morooka may be strict, but that was still no reason for him to-," Mitsuru was interrupted by a beeping on the console, she pressed a flashing button. "Command room. Is that you, Akihiko?" she asked.

"_You're not gonna beleive this, this thing's huge_," someone was panting on the intercom.

"Is it one of them, Akihiko?" Mitsuru asked, getting out of her seat.

"_Yeah, but not an ordinary one. I don't have time to talk, it's chasing me, I'll be there soon_," the voice on the intercom said and it cut off. Yukari got out her seat immediately.

"Wait! Does that meant he's bringing that thing HERE?" she said in a panic. Minato got up and stood next to Yukari.

"We'll have to get downstairs and stop it," Minato said.

"Agreed, Mr. Chariman, we're suspending our observation for now, we'll prepare for battle!" Mitsuru said.

"R-right! Be careful!" Ikutsuki said as the group left the room.

* * *

><p>On the first floor lounge, a guy in a red vest with and short-cut grey hair burst through the front door and locked it behind him. "Ugh..." he cluched his side and slouched to the floor.<p>

"Akihiko!" Mitsuru's voice said as the group apporached him.

"I'm alright..." Akihiko said. "Get ready to be surprised, it'll be here any second!" Akihiko said, getting to his feet.

"This is no time to joke around!" Mitsuru said sternly.

"Akihiko-senpai, what are we dealing with?" Minato asked, as he unholstered a gun-like object.

"I don't know, it's one of them, but not one I've ever seen before-" Akihiko got cut off by a loud boom at the door, followed by sounds of something trying to break it down.

"What the-! You've gotta be kidding me!" Yukari said as she looked out the window.

Chris slowly opened his eyes to sounds of loud banging noises. He groaned and rubbed his eyes, feeling like he just got hit by a train. A loud roar from outside got him wide awake. He looked at his alarm clock, only to see that it was off. He tried turning on his lamp, but that didn't work either.

"What happened to the power?" he asked out loud, then another loud bang got his attention. "_What's going on out there?_" he though and his eyes went to the desk chair, where his father's ranger jacket was hanging. He still had a pair of pants, shoes, and a white tee-shirt on, so he put the jacket on and went downstairs, to find everyone at the front door, each with a handgun ready. "What the hell is going on?" he asked as he approached the group. They turned around and Chris was met with looks of shock and disbeleif.

"What? But he was a statue last night! How's he-?" Yukari was interrupted by another loud bang at the door.

Mitsuru turned to Minato and Yukari. "We'll sort this out later, Arisato, Takeba, take Vash and get out through the back door," she instructed.

"But what about you two?" Yukari asked.

"We'll stop it here, or at the least by you some time to get away," Mitsuru said.

"What are you waiting for? Go! Now!" Akihiko said urgently.

"Okay, here! this way!" Yukari said as she and Minato led Chris to the back just as the front door swung open.

"Is anyone going to tell me what's going on?" Chris said as they reached the back entrance to the dorm.

"We'll tell you all about it later, just not now," Yukari said as she went to open the door. A small radio on Minato's belt started beeping.

"_Arisato, do you read me_?" Mitsuru's voice came from the radio.

Minato answered it. "Yes, I hear you," Minato said.

"_Be careful! There's more than one enemy! The one we're fighting isn't the one Akihiko saw!_" Mitsuru warned.

"What?" Yukari stopped short at the door and right on cue, a massive, black claw broke the door down and started swiping back and forth.

"HO-LY SHIT!" Chris staggered back from the bits of wood that came flying from the door being broken.

"We can't go this way! Quick, to the roof! Let's go!" Minato said as he and Yukari dragged Chris away.

"What was that thing?" Chris asked as they went up the stairs, followed by several crashing sounds from downstairs.

"Keep going! We're almost there!" Yukari said as they reached the roof access door.

Chris and Yukari got through the door followed by Minato, who shut the door behind them and locked it. "You two okay?" he asked.

"Yes...we're...fine..." Yukari panted.

"Okay, what the fuck was that? And will someone tell me what's-" Chris was stopped in mid question by a roar from the side of the roof.

"What?" Yukari shrieked as a black claw grasped the edge of the roof, followed by another and the creature they were attached to heaved itself onto the roof and it roared at them. It was an obsidian-black quadrapedal creature about as big as a truck, it had a head looked like a cross between a horse and an alligator. "You gotta be kidding me! It climbed up the wall?!" Yukari said.

"What is it?" Chris asked from behind Minato and Yukari.

"That's the thing that's attacking the dorm...we call them Shadows," Minato said and pulled a gun out of a holster on is side. "Yukari, stand back," he instructed and put the gun to his head. Chris immediately went forward and grabbed the gun.

"You're pointing it the wrong way!" he said as he and Minato struggled for control of it.

"This isn't a weapon! It's a-!" The Shadow pounced and landed between Chris and Minato, it swatted Chris away from Minato and Yukari and it's tail slammed Minato against the wall.

"Minato-kun!" Yukari tried to rush to Minato's side, but the Shadow turned it's attention to Yukari. She fell back and started scooting away as the Shadow slowly inched towards her. "NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!" she shouted and kicked at it.

Chris got to his feet and found that the gun Minato was holding had landed near him. Chris picked it up and took aim at the Shadow approaching Yukari. "Gotcha..." he said and squeezed the trigger, but nothing happened. He tried two more times until he realized the gun wasn't firing. "What? There's no bullets in this thing!" he called to Yukari. The Shadow opened it's jaws and lunged at Yukari, she held her breath and cleched her eyes shut...

The Shadow made gagging sounds as Yukari opened her eyes after a few seconds. Chris' arm was in the Shadow's mouth, apparently too far in for the Shadow to handle. "You alright...?" Chris asked in a strained tone. The Shadow's jaw closed slightly, causing Chris to clench the gun in his had that he had down the Shadow's throat so hard it squeezed the trigger, causing a flash and an explosion.

* * *

><p>The explosion was seen on the roof moniter of the command room. Mitsuru and Akihiko had finished dispatching the Shadows from downstairs and had went to see where the others had gone.<p>

"There they are! They're on the roof!" Akihiko said.

"Let's go, they'll need our help!" Mitsuru said as she and Akihiko made their way to the door.

"Wait a minute!" Ikutsuki said, stopping Mitsuru and Akihiko. The smoke on the moniter cleared and Chris was on his knees, but something was different. Where his right arm should have been, there was what appeared to be a white, armored gauntlet with a sapphire on the back of the hand.

"What's that on his arm?" Akihiko said, leaning towards the moniter to get a better look.

* * *

><p>The Shadow was making gurgled sputtering noises as the left side of it's jaw had been blown off the hinge. "Minato-kun! Minato-kun! Wake up!" Yukari said as she got to Minato's side. Minato slowly opened his eyes, much to Yukari's relief. "You're alright..." she said.<p>

"Yeah, where's Chris?" Minato asked as he sat up.

"Huh? What's with his arm?" Yukari asked as she looked in Chris' direction.

Chris panted and held his left shoulder as he got to his feet. The sapphire on the gauntlet started glowing and pulsed as he got up. "Huh?" Chris said as he noticed the pulsing grow stronger as he slid the gauntlet closer to where his heart was.

_"I am thou...and thou art I..._" the same voice from earlier echoed through Chris' head. "_The time has come...reach deep within thyself...and seize what lies within!_" the voice instructed. Chris started moving on his own, as if he knew by instinct...

Chris exhaled slowly. "Per..."

He clenched the gauntlet into a fist. "So..."

The Shadow roared and lunged. Chris closed his eyes. "Na..." and slammed the fist against the left side of his chest.

Immediately, a haze started forming behind Chris and swirled into a tornado. The Shadow stopped in mid-air and roared at Chris. It lunged again and a lance shot from the tornado behind him and pierced it's head, stopping the Shadow dead. The lance retracted back inside the tornado.

"What the? What is that?" Yukari shouted over the howling wind.

"_Thou art I...and I am thou..._" a silhouette started to form inside the tornado as it calmed back into a cloud of haze.

"_From the sea of thy soul, I come forth. I become thy eyes and bring thee one step closer to the truth..._" the voice said. The lance peeked out from the cloud and in a swiping motion, cleared it away to reveal a knight in white and blue armor holding the lance in one hand with a sword as big as it was across it's back.

* * *

><p>In the command room, Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Ikutsuki saw the whole thing on the rooftop moniter.<p>

"Wait! That's a..." Akihiko started.

"A Persona?! But last night he was...he never had..." Mitsuru was at a loss for words.

Ikutsuki only looked on. "How interesting..." was all he said.

* * *

><p>Two more Shadows like the one that was just destroyed climbed over the edge in front of Chris and his Persona and started closing in on them. "More of them..." Chris said and heard Yukari scream. He turned around to see another Shadow just feet away from Minato and Yukari, but the Shadow was instantly impaled by the Persona's lance. The Persona was being charged by another Shadow and took the sword off it's back and took the top of the Shadow's head off in one swing. The last Shadow lunged at the Persona's back.<p>

"Behind you!" Chris said and the Persona turned around just in time to catch the Shadow in mid-air on the tip of it's sword. The Persona kicked the Shadow off the sword and slung the sword across it's back. It pulled it's lance out of the pinned Shadow by Yukari and Minato and stood in front of the moon, looking kind of heroic, actually.

"_I...am Lancelot of the Round Table..._" the Persona declared and turned ito an orb that made it's way over to Chris' gauntlet. Chris held it in his palm until it dispersed and the sapphire on the back flashed. Chris turned it over and the sapphire was emblazoned with the number '0'.

* * *

><p><em>Chris has obtained the facade to overcome all of life's hardships: The Persona Lancelot<em>


	7. First Battle, First Visit

Chapter 6: First Battle, First Visit

* * *

><p>"I don't understand," Mitsuru said as she observed the battle's aftermath on the moniter from the control room. "He was a statue last night and now he's suddenly become active? How is that possible?" she pondered further.<p>

* * *

><p>"Is it over?" Yukari asked nervously as Minato got to his feet and went to Chris.<p>

"You alright?" Minato helped a heavily panting Chris to his feet.

"Yeah...I'm fine..." Chris said and shortly after his response, a loud, ominous bellow rang out and a Shadow leapt up the side of the dorm and landed roughly on the roof in front of Chris and Minato. "Huh...should'a figured they weren't done..." Chris said. The Shadow was humanoid in appearance, it had black skin with red tribal-looking marks on it's body. It had six arms, each with a sword in it, crossed in front of itself. It raised it's head and it's arms spread. It's mask was emblazoned with a sword emblem and it bellowed at Chris.

* * *

><p>Akihiko gasped at the appearance of this new Shadow. "That's it! That's the Shadow that attacked me!" he said. Ikutsuki and Mitsuru looked at the Shadow, perplexed.<p>

"That Shadow...you were right, Akihiko. It's not like any of the other Shadows we encountered," She said. "Just what are we dealing with, here?" she asked out loud.

* * *

><p>"Yukari! Toss me your evoker!" Minato held his hand out and Yukari complied. He held the gun-shaped object to his temple. "Let's go, Orpheus!" he said as he squeezed the trigger. Almost immediately, a mechanical, humanoid figure with a harp on it's back emerged. "Hit it with an Agi!" Minato ordered. The mechanical being, Orpheus, pulled it's harp off of it's back and strummed it. A small explosion detonated in front of the new Shadow, but that only seemed to annoy it. The Shadow lunged at Orpheus and slashed it with all six of it's swords. Orpheus barely managed to get out of the way in time.<p>

"What are you waiting for? Call your Persona!" Minato said as he helped Chris stand up.

"My what?" Chris said, confused at first, then looked at the gauntlet's hand. "_Oh, right... that thing..._" he thought and slammed the gauntlet against his chest, and Lancelot appeared behind him. "What now?" Chris asked as he turned to Minato.

"Hold on. Orpheus! Try Tarunda!" Minato said and Orpheus waited for a pause in the Shadow's attack and strummed it's harp again. This time, the Shadow was surrounded by a faint orange light and the Shadow seemed to shudder. It bellowed and lungeda t Orpheus again.

"Stop it!" Chris instructed and Lancelot intercepted the attack with it's lance. The Shadow swung it's swords at Lancelot, but they just glanced off it's armor. Chris felt a slight twinge, similar to the feeling he got when his foot fell asleep. "That wasn't so bad..." Chris said.

"I used a skill to weaken it's attack. Try to destroy the Shadow, now!" Minato said and Chris nodded, racking his brain for something to use, until he finally found a skill, as if it suddenly appeared in his head.

"Um... Cruel Attack!" Chris instructed and Lancelot drove it's lance through the weakened Shadow's body. The Shadow fell to it's knees and struggled to get back up. Lancelot stood before the Shadow, took the sword across it's back, and brought the sword down on the Shadow, cleaving it in half and causing it to disperse. Lancelot dispersed as well after Chris started to feel extremely light headed. Chris fell to his knees, then onto his side.

"Hey! Are you okay?" Minato said as Chris fell. He was joined shortly by Yukari.

"Can you hear me? Answer me!" Yukari said as Chris lost consciousness.

* * *

><p><em>...Master...Master Chris Vash... <em>a voice seemed to echo through the blackness. Chis found himself in front of a blue door that opened and he was blinded by a white light. When his vision came to, he was sitting at a round table in the cabin of what looked like a private jet. "What? Where the-?" he looked around the area until a voice snapped his attention forward.

"Ah, it appears we have a guest..." Chris was sitting across from a short, balding old man with a long, pointy nose in a tuxedo. To his left, was a white-haired young woman with yellow eyes dressed in a blue business suit.

"And an unusual one he is..." the old man said with a chuckle. "My name is Igor. I am delighted to make your acquaintance," he said and gestured to the young woman next to him. "And this is my assistant, Maria. She is just as delighted to meet you as well," Igor said.

"Ecstatic..." the young woman said boredly.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room. This place exists bewteen dream and reality, mind, and matter," Igor explained. "Only those who have entered into a contract may enter here," he finished.

"Hold on, contract? I don't remember signing anything, or even agreeing to anything," Chris said.

"Yes, it seems that the contract you have entered is unwritten, yet nonetheless, you have entered into it, wether it be by your knowledge or not, regardless, you shall be a welcomed guest in the Velvet Room," Igor said.

"When you said that this place exists between dream and reality...does that mean I'm dreaming right now?" Chris asked.

"Precisely. You are fast asleep in the real world as we speak. You lost consciousness shortly after awakening to your power, the power of Persona," Igor explained. "It is a manifestation of your psyche, a facet of your personality that surfaces as you react to external stimuli," Igor continued. "To put it more simply, you can think of it as a mask that protects you as you brave many hardships. Though on an interesting note, it was Lancelot who heeded your call... most unusual..." Igor finished.

Chris sat there for a moment, absorbing everything he had just heard. It all sounded a bit too farfetched, but with everything he had seen and experienced a moment ago, Chris had no reason for skepticism. "So that's what Lancelot is... a facet of my personality?" Chris asked.

"Exactly. However, in order to use your Persona, you must channel your inner strength. That ability evolves as you develop your Social Links, your emotional bonds with others. The stronger your Social Link, the more powerful your Persona's ability, you would do well to remember that," Igor said.

"Okay, strong Social Links equals strong Persona, got it," Chris said with a nod.

"Now then, time marches on in your world, I musn't keep you here any longer," Igor said dismissively. "However, the next time we meet, it will be of your own accord. Until then, farewell," Igor finished and Chris' vision slowly swirled out of focus, then blacked out...

* * *

><p>Chris slowly opened his eyes, only to find himself staring at a white ceiling. "Uhhhhh...what time is it?" he groaned groggily.<p>

"Oh! Minato-kun, he's awake," a familiar voice said next Chris. He turned his head to find Yukari sitting in a chair next to the bed he was in, with Minato standing next to her.

"Glad to see you awake, finally. How're you feeling?" Minato asked.

"Like a mountain fell on me," Chris said, pulling his right arm from under the covers to rub his eyes. The gauntlet on his arm was gone. "Hey, what happened to that-?" Chris started, looking at Minato and Yukari.

"Oh yeah, your arm turned back to normal after the Midnight Zone dispersed, You've been out for about a week now," Minato explained. "We brought you to Tatsumi General Hospital after you passed out. The doctors couldn't find anything wrong with you, they said you were just exhausted, I'm glad they were right. Your power, it was amazing," Minato explained, then finished with a compliment.

Chris remembered the events from the dorm rooftop that night. "What were those things?" he asked.

"You mean those monsters? They're called Shadows, they're what we're fighting against. And the power you used to fight them, we call it 'Persona'," Yukari explained. "We would've told you, but, well... it's complicated. We'l explain everything later, after you're discharged from the hospital," Yukari finished.

"Well, we'd better get going, let everyone know you're awake," Minato said as he started towards the door and Yukari got up from her seat.

"Take it easy, okay? Be a good patient, and don't hesitate to call the nurse if you need anything!" Yukari said with a smile and left with Minato.

"Alright, I'll call if I get lonely," Chris said as the door closed. He laid his head back on his pillow and looked at he clock on the side table next to the bed. It read 4:58, 4/17 2012.


	8. The Offer

Chapter 7: The Offer

**4/18**

Chris approached the gates to Gekkoukan High, having been discharged from the hospital yesterday following Yukari and Minato's visit. As he walked past the gates, he heard someone call his name. He turned around to see Setsuna striding over to him. "Hey, Chris-san! I'm so glad you're feeling better!" Setsuna greeted him with a smile.

"Good to see you, too, Setsuna," Chris said, returning a smile. "Did I miss anything while I was out?" he asked.

"Hmmm, not sure. This is actually my first day here..." Setsuna said embarassed. "There was an issue with my enrollment papers, but they got straightened out and I'm finally here," she explained, looking away slightly.

"Glad to hear it," Chris said with a nod. "Which homeroom are you in?" he added.

Setsuna unfolded a piece of paper in her hand and looked over it. "I'm in class...2-B," she said, looking up from the paper.

"No kidding! That's my homeroom!" Chris said surprised.

Setsuna's face lit up. "Wow. Who'dve thought we'd be in the same homeroom!" she said with a smile then looked away slightly. "Maybe it's fate..." she trailed off.

"Who knows? Here, follow me. I know where it is-" he said, then time suddenly stood still.

An image of a card appeared in Chris' mind and it turned over to reveal an cresent moon illustration, followed by a strange voice.

_Thou art I... and I am thou..._

_Thou has discovered a new bond_

_One to lead to salvation... or to damnation..._

_The path of the Moon begins..._

The voice faded and time started back slowly. Chris felt slightly different, like he was slightly stronger somehow, then recalled that man Igor's words.

_ "That ability evolves as you develop your Social Links, your emotional bonds with others. The stronger your Social Link, the more powerful your Persona's ability..."_

_So that must be a Social Link..._ Chris thought.

"Are you okay?" Setsuna's voice snapped him back to reality.

"Uh, yeah. I'm alright," he said and continued walking to class. "Anyway a few things you need to know about our homeroom teacher..." Chris began filling Setsuna in about King Moron.

* * *

><p><strong>MORNING<strong>

* * *

><p>"Hanamura?" Morooka called Yosuke's name during role.<p>

No answer. "Hanamura?!" Morooka called again to only silence.

Chris took a look behind to find that Yosuke's desk was empty.

"Absent again, huh?" Morooka said and scribbled something down on the role sheet. "This'll come back and bite him in the ass later.." he mumbled then proceeded with the class until it was over.

When Morooka left the room, Chris looked to Chie. "Morooka said Yosuke was absent again, did something happen to Yosuke?" he asked.

"Um, well something DID happen, but not to him, you see..." Chie sighed. "I don't think Yosuke would appreciate gossiping behind his back. You should ask him yourself," Chie said. "Knowing him, he's probably still in the main hallway by the entrance," Chie said.

* * *

><p>LUNCHTIME<p>

* * *

><p>Classes had dismissed for lunch and taking Chie's advice, Chris went to the main hallway and sure enough, Yosuke was standing at the end of it, in front of a student portrait surrounded by flowers.<p>

"Yosuke?" Chris said as he approched.

"Oh...hey Chris...didn't see you there..." Yosuke said flatly, not even looking in Chris' direction.

Chris took a look at the portrait and the flowers around it. It didn't take a genius to figure out what it meant. "Did you know her?" Chris asked. Yosuke nodded.

"Her name was Saki Konishi. She... she worked part-time at Junes," Yosuke said in the same flat voice. "She died three days ago, while you were absent. The police said she was hit by a car..." Yosuke continued, his voice breaking a bit.

"Yosuke, if you don't want to talk about it..." Chris started and was abruptly cut off by Yosuke.

"The driver said she just appeared out of nowhere...I don't buy it...there's no way that could've been an accident..." Yosuke said. "I knew her, there's just no way Saki-Senpai would be that careless..." Yosuke's voice trailed off, then he just sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, I'm glad you stopped by, but... I just need some time..." Yosuke said.

Chris gave a quick nod. "Alright, just don't forget that you have friends you can talk to if you need to," Chris said and walked off.

"Yeah... thanks, Chris," Yosuke said without turning around.

* * *

><p>AFTER SCHOOL<p>

* * *

><p>Classes had finished for the day and Chris was just geting out of his seat when Yukari came through the door.<p>

"Oh, there you are," she said and approached Chris. "I'm sorry to hit you with this just after school ends, but Ikutsuki-san wants to talk to you. Cany ou come to the 4th floor at the dorm?" she asked.

"Um, sure. What's this about?" Chris asked, to which Yukari looked away slightly.

"We cant discuss it here, just trust me and come with me," she said and exited the room with Chris in tow.

* * *

><p>EVENING<p>

* * *

><p>"Lousy traffic..." Yukari muttered as she and Chris entered the dorm. The lounge was empty.<p>

"Where is everyone?" Chris asked.

"They're upstairs on the fourth floor, follow me," Yukari motioned as she led Chris up to the fourth floor, where Minato was waiting.

"Took the scenic route, huh?" he asked. "Everyone's here," he added as he approached a door on the end of the hall and entered.

"Well, let's see what he wants," Chris said as he followed suit and entered. Sure enough, Ikutsuki was waiting inside, along with Minato, Mitsuru, and another person with whitish hair in a red vest that Chris didn't recognize.

"Ah, there you are," Ikutsuki greeted Chris. "I'm glad to see you're alright, please, have a seat," Ikutsuki said and Chris took a seat across from Mitsuru. "I assume Yukari explained the reason I called you here?" Ikutsuki asked.

"She was a bit vauge, but you wanted to talk to me?" Chris said.

"I did, but before that, I mentioned him before, but this is Akihiko," Ikutsuki introduced the boy in the red vest.

"How ya doin'?" Akihiko greeted Chris.

"Before we start, let me ask you this; would you believe me if I told you than in some areas, a day consists of more than twenty-four hours?" Ikutsuki asked.

Chris was confused. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I'm not surprised you would be confused, but you've already experienced this truth firsthand," Mitsuru said. "Do you remember the night before you woke up in the hospital? Didn't it feel like you were in a different time?" Mitsuru asked.

"Actually I was too busy with those...things to notice any subtleties," Chris said.

"Well, regardless, these areas are called 'Midnight Zones' as their name suggests they appear at midnight, and last until the sun rises," Mitsuru explained. "They're essentially hidden areas," she finished.

"That's right, and they will continue to appear tonight, and every night after," Ikutsuki added.

"Normal people don't know about them, since anyone in a Midnight Zone turns into a statue," Akihiko said. "But that's not what makes Midnight Zones interesting, it's what lives in them," Akihiko added. "You remember those creatures, right? We call them Shadows," he continued. "They live in these Midnight Zones and attack anyone who isn't a statue, and it's our job to defeat them. Sounds exiting, huh?" Akihiko finished.

"Why are you always like that? You just got hurt last week!" Mitsuru said sternly.

"Now, now. He does his work well," Ikutsuki said, diffusing the situation. "So, long story short," he started, looking Chris' direction. "We're the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, or SEES for short. On paper, we're classified as a school club, but in reality, this group is dedicated to defeating the Shadows," Ikutsuki explained.

_Wow...sounds like something out of a spy movie... _Chirs thought.

"It used to be that Shadows fed on the minds of their prey, and most still do; but recently, some Shadows appeared that physically attack their prey. Either way, the victim meets a terrible end," Mitsuru said. "They're responsible for most of the incidents in the news, if not all of them,"

"So how do you fight them?" Chris asked.

"Although rare, there are certain individuals who can function within Midnight Zones, and some may even awaken to a power that can fight the Shadows. That power is called 'Persona' you used it last week when the dorm was attacked," Ikutsuki answered. "Only Persona-users can defeat Shadows, so it's up to all of you," Ikutsuki finished.

"So, where are you going with this?" Chris asked, to which Mitsuru opened the briefcase on the table. It had a red armband in it, along with a shiny handgun-looking object.

"What he's saying is, we want you to join us," Mitsuru clarified. "Though you don't appear to need one, we had an evoker made for you anyway. We'd like you to lend us your strength," she said.

"Is this a volunteer job, or am I being volunteered?" Chris asked.

"We said we would like you to join us, we never said that you had to, it's your choice," Minato said, and Chris took another look at the open briefcase and got out of his seat.

"I'm gonna get some air. I need some time to think about this," Chris said as he left the room.

"Hey! Wait! You can't just-!" Yukari said, to which she was cut off by Mitsuru.

"Just give him some time, after all this was a lot to take in," Mitsuru said. "And he did say he would think about it, he never said said 'no'..."


End file.
